Pluto, Charon

The story behind Pluto's huge moon bodes well for distant ocean worlds
Unlike how scientists believe Earth's moon formed billions of years ago, Pluto and its biggest moon, Charon, didn't have a messy breakup. New computer simulations show the primitive dwarf planet and the object that struck it likely had an unforeseen kind of cosmic collision.
Sealed With a Kiss: The Unexpected Origin Story of Pluto and Its Moon Charon
Pluto and Charon may have formed through a “kiss and capture” mechanism, with the two icy bodies colliding and becoming temporarily stuck together, spinning in a cosmic dance before separating into two objects that are forever bound in orbit,
Pluto and Charon formed through a 'kiss and capture' collision
New study reveals Pluto and Charon’s origin: a unique "kiss and capture" collision redefines how binary systems form.
Newly discovered 'kiss and capture' mechanism explains the formation of Pluto and its largest moon
Billions of years ago, in the frigid outer reaches of our solar system, two icy worlds collided. Rather than destroying each other in a cosmic catastrophe, they spun together like a celestial snowman,
New study suggests a completely different origin for Pluto’s largest moon
A new study suggests that the origin of Pluto's largest moon was quite different than our own. Here's what you need to know.
Astronomers have for decades tried to figure out how Pluto captured its largest moon. Now, there’s a new theory
Pluto likely acquired large moon Charon in a “kiss and capture” collision billions of years ago. It may have created a subsurface ocean on the icy dwarf planet.
A Novel 'Kiss and Capture' Event Gave Pluto Its Largest Moon, Charon, New Study Suggests
The “demoted” dwarf planet Pluto and its largest moon Charon make an unusual pair, and for decades, scientists have been discussing how the binary system—in which each mutually orbits the other—came to be.
Pluto’s Weirdly Big Moon May Have Come From A ‘Kiss And Capture’
Pluto's big moon Charon may have a different origin story than scientists suspected. New research suggests the two bodies ...
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How Pluto captured its largest moon Charon with a 10-hour icy 'kiss'
"We were definitely surprised by the 'kiss' part of kiss-and-capture. There hasn't really been a kind of impact before where ...
Pluto May Have Captured Its Biggest Moon After an Ancient Dance and Kiss
Charon is large in size relative to Pluto, and is locked in a tight orbit with the dwarf planet. A new simulation suggests how it ended up there.
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Pluto’s largest moon formed in a ‘kiss and capture’ event, reveals new study
This "kiss and capture" mechanism offers a fresh perspective on planetary formation, particularly about Pluto and its largest ...
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Scientists stunned after learning Pluto and its biggest moon collided billions of years ago: ‘Raises a lot of interesting questions’
New research suggests Pluto may have had a “kiss” with its largest moon billions of years ago in a harmless collision. The report, published in “Nature Geoscience,” describes how the ...